AIMS: LandCruiser and Lexus big guns uncovered

Toyota and its luxury brand, Lexus have used the Sydney motor show to unveil two flagship vehicles that are likely to both raise the ire and appease environmentally conscious motorists.

For Toyota it was the world's first unveiling of the all-new LandCruiser 200 series that goes on sale in November. The all-new full time four-wheel drive is significantly bigger and more powerful and sits on a new -- but still frame-based -- chassis with a choice of petrol and diesel V8 engines.

The petrol engine is an upgraded version of the current 4.7-litre petrol that delivers a slight improvement in power over the current engine's 170kW courtesy of intelligent variable valve timing and will drive through a five-speed automatic transmission.

The 4.5-litre twin turbodiesel however is an altogether different affair delivering about 200kW and 600Nm -- a vast improvement over the outgoing generation LandCruiser's 150kW/430Nm from its 4.2-litre turbodiesel -- and drives through a six-speed auto.

Up front is a new double wishbone coil sprung suspension while the LandCruiser will also feature the availability of a WA-developed Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS) that controls the front and rear stabilizer bars for greater on road stability or off road performance.

Full details, specifications and pricing will be released on November 5.

At the other end of its SUV range, Toyota has expanded the RAV lineup with the addition of a new 3.5-litre V6 model. This V6 model has been available in the US since the current generation RAV4 was launched in 2006 but when Toyota released the RAV locally, it claimed the V6 model would cannibalise sales of the mid-sized Kluger too much.

Now that the new Kluger has arrived however, being bigger and substantially more powerful, Toyota has taken the plunge on the V6 RAV with the car going on sale next week priced between about $40,000 and $50,000.

Meanwhile over at the Lexus stand the highlight was the third instalment in the company's hybrid strategy being the flagship V8 petrol-electric LS600hL that goes on sale in November.

With an estimated 325kW/520Nm from its combined electric and 5.0-litre V8 petrol motors that drive all four wheels through a CVT, and a relatively miserly fuel consumption of around 11.5lt/100km, the top of the range long-wheelbase Lexus is being pitched against the V12 rivals from BMW and Mercedes. And although it will carry a $65,000 premium over the LS460 sedan upon which it is based, it's $250,000 sticker will still be a long way shy of the $340+ prices of its competitors.

However all was not just clean and green on the Lexus stand with its two other highlighted products being the LandCruiser-based LX570 luxury SUV -- that packs a big 280kW/544Nm 5.7-litre V8 petrol engine -- and the local debut of the first of Lexus' performance division cars the IS-F.

The latter will directly target BMW's new M3 with its 300kW/475Nm 5.0-litre V8 that driving the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. It is expected to be priced about $140,000 when it goes on sale in November 2008 while the LX570 will command a premium over the $125,000 LX470 it will replace early next year.

To comment on this article click here